Momentary Trust
by mytimezoneiscptsd
Summary: Maddie hadn't been expecting what she'd found when she arrived home after doing a nightly patrol around the perimeter, nearly tripping over the leg of a chair as her mind caught up with the sight before her. There, sprawled out on her couch, was the ghost boy, Danny Phantom, who was barely conscious and bleeding. Rated T for depictions of gore.


Maddie hadn't been expecting what she'd found when she arrived home after doing a nightly patrol around the perimeter, nearly tripping over the leg of a chair as her mind caught up with the sight before her. There, sprawled out on her couch, was the ghost boy, Danny Phantom, who was barely conscious and bleeding from what looked to be an infected wound stretching across his chest and abdomen. She hesitantly came closer, shifting her weight into the soles of her heels to make no sound as she inched closer, ectogun already aimed at his forehead should he attack. When the whine of the gun charging sounded, his eyes flickered open to be met with the sight of a gun in his face, undoubtedly causing the yelp and violent flinch that followed, as well as the pitiful pained screech he muffled into his arm, biting down tightly on it to keep himself from causing any unwanted noise.

He slumped back against the couch, panting shallowly as he gazed up into her goggles with glassy, glazed green eyes, sweat beading on his forehead as well as a rose hue in his cheeks and nose. Maddie pursed her lips and lowered the gun - that was impossible for a ghost. Their systems should've been completely inactive, lacking organs and a nervous system to function with. Sure, she could theorize that it was out of habit, but this seemed far too real to be a mere mimicry of life.

He opened and closed his mouth several times in an attempt to speak, but only a harsh croaking noise left his lips, followed by several harsh body wracking coughs that he muffled into the crook of his arm, gasping quietly once it was over. Looking closer, she saw that ectoplasm stained the arm where he had coughed. She gave a small sigh before placing the gun on the kitchen table - he was clearly in no condition to fight, and by now, she had been starting to come to terms with the fact that he wasn't trying to terrorize Amity. Of course, it'd take much more time to convince Jack of this, but she'd keep him busy for the meantime. Hell, it was nearly one in the morning, so he should be asleep by then. She crouched in front of him, gently placing a hand on his arm. He stiffened and opened his eyes once more, a soft groan escaping him as it jostled him slightly.

"I'm not going to harm you, Phantom, but I need to know what to do in order to help you," She commanded firmly, her face stony and grave as she did so. He rolled his head towards her, a smirk on his pale face.

"Straight forward as usual," He rasped, chuckling slightly before he gasped softly as it once again upset his wounds. "Vivisection. The incisions became infected and it's slowly going further into my body. I-I think I need antibiotics, but..." He trailed off, eyebrows furrowed.

"Are you sure those would even work?" She questioned, before remembering the all too human reactions he had been displaying, which she would write down and theorize about at a later date.

"They will, trust me," the boy replied, cringing slightly as he tried to sit up and utterly failing, falling back onto the couch. This time, he was unable to stifle the cry that left him, hoping that no one had woken because of it.

"First thing's first - we need to get your fever down. What is your normal body temperature?" She asked, standing to go get the supplies she needed.

"A-About 84 degrees, I think." She nodded, walking briskly back into the kitchen and rummaging through the pantry for a few minutes before returning with a spoonful of dark purple liquid. Upon seeing this, the boy's nose wrinkled in disgust and he knitted his eyebrows tensely.

"Open up," She murmured, unable to keep a hint of amusement out of her tone as plunged the spoon into his mouth, the ghost swallowing haggardly before making a gagging noise.

"I've always hated that stuff," He murmured quietly, his eyes once again unfocused. She didn't question him, instead lifting his head an sitting next to him before positioning his head in her lap, making sure he was comfortable before she began to speak again.

"Who did this to you, if you don't mind my asking?" The mother murmured, unable to hide the protectiveness in her voice. He made a distressed sound in the back of his throat, shutting his eyes before shivering once.

"First, it was y-you and Jack, then the Guys in White, and this time, it was Vl- Plasmius," He admitted softly, wanting nothing more than to bury his face in her stomach and pretend none of this was happening.

"Gods," She breathed out, finding herself stroking his hair and gently twisting and twirling it between her fingers, a pleased noise coming from the ghost child in her lap, a small smile on his face. It faded slowly.

"I know we've hunted you before, but gods, I never remember..." Maddie trailed off, seeing the guilty expression that had crossed his face. "What did you do?"

"There - There was an artifact known as the Reality Gauntlet that could change the universe," He croaked, stiffening momentarily before melting into her once more. "I erased your memories of it - I-I didn't want you to feel guilty."

 _Why would we feel guilty?_ She pushed the thought back, frowning at her intellect. "I'm so sorry."

"You only did what you thought was right," He replied in return.

They sat in silence for a long while, and she realized that he had begun to fall asleep, unaware that she had dosed the fever reducer with medication that would lull him into unconsciousness so that she could treat his wounds. She removed her fingers from his hair, recieving a pitiful whine of protest before the boy was nuzzling her hand much like a young child would. She couldn't help the smile that reached her face as she began to toy with his snow white hair once more. She'd wait until he drifted off into a deeper sleep.


End file.
